Things that Travelled

Mediterranean Glass in the First Millennium CE

Edited by Daniela Rosenow, Matt Phelps, Andrew Meek, and Ian Freestone

ISBN: 9781787351219

Publication: March 19, 2018

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What is this?

Recent research has demonstrated that, in the Roman, Late Antique, Early Islamic and Medieval worlds, glass was traded over long distances, from the Eastern Mediterranean, mainly Egypt and Israel, to Northern Africa, the Western Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Things that Travelled, a collaboration between the UCL Early Glass Technology Research Network, the Association for the History of Glass and the British Museum, aims to build on this knowledge.

Covering all aspects of glass production, technology, distribution and trade in Roman, Byzantine and Early Medieval/Early Islamic times, including studies from Britain, Egypt, Cyprus, Italy and many others, the volume combines the strengths of the sciences and cultural studies to offer a new approach to research on ancient glass. By bringing together such a varied mix of contributors, specialising in a range of geographical areas and chronological time frames, this volume also offers a valuable contribution to broader discussions on glass within political, economic, cultural and historical arenas.

Praise for Things that Travelled

'A valuable contribution to a field which is adding new aspects to our knowledge of both Roman and early medieval Europe.'
Mediaeval Archaeology

Daniela Rosenow gained her PhD in Egyptology from the Humboldt-University Berlin in 2008. Since 2017 she has been employed as an academic research fellow at the German Archaeological Institute Cairo and responsible for excavations at Dahshur. Her research interests include Late Period and Greco-Roman Egypt with a specialisation in ancient glass.

Matt Phelps completed a Physical Sciences degree at UCL in 2007. After a placement at the Research Laboratory with English Heritage, he went on to do a Doctorate at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL. His research interests lie in glass production, provenance and technology, particularly during the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods.

Andrew Meek is a scientist in the Department of Scientific Research at the British Museum. His specialism is the analysis of vitreous materials. He is a board member of the Early Glass Technology Research Network and The Association for the History of Glass, and co-editor of Glass News.

Ian Freestone is an archaeological scientist in the Institute of Archaeology, UCL. He joined UCL in 2011 as Professor of Archaeological Materials and Technology and manages the Wolfson materials science laboratories. He has conducted research on artefacts from all over the world, from the Neolithic to the early modern periods.

1 A special group of early Christian glass ‘gems’ from Greece
Anastassios Ch. Antonaras
2 Gold-glasses: From their origin to Late Antiquity in the Mediterranean
Giulia Cesarin
3 A Late Antique manganese-decolourised glass composition: Interpreting patterns and mechanisms of distribution
Anastasia Cholakova and Thilo Rehren
4 Glass production and consumption in Cyprus in Late Antiquity (fourth–seventh century ce)
Peter Cosyns and Andrea Ceglia
5 Things that travelled: Precious things for special people?
Sally Cottam and Caroline Jackson
6 Trading North: Glass-working beyond the edge of the empire
Mary Davis and Ian C. Freestone
7 Into Africa: The biography of Roman vessel glass in the Sahara Desert
Chloë N. Duckworth and David J. Mattingly
8 HIMT, glass composition and commodity branding in the primary glass industry
Ian C. Freestone, Patrick Degryse, James Lankton, Bernard Gratuze and J. Schneider
9 Consumption, working and trade of Late Antique glass from north Adriatic Italy: An archaeometric perspective Sarah Maltoni, Filomena Gallo, Alberta Silvestri, Mariangela Vandini, Tania Chinni, Alessandra Marcante, Gianmario Molin and Enrico Cirelli
10 How clean is your (glass)house?: A Late Antique glass workshop at Pella in Jordan
Margaret O’Hea
11 Glass supply and trade in early Islamic Ramla: An investigation of the plant ash glass
Matt Phelps
12 A view from the South: Roman and Late Antique glass from Armant, Upper Egypt
Daniela Rosenow and Thilo Rehren
13 When things stopped travelling: Recycling and the glass industry in Britain from the first to fifth century CE
Victoria A. Sainsbury
14 Things that travelled: A review of the Roman glass from northern Adriatic Italy
Alberta Silvestri, Filomena Gallo, Sarah Maltoni, Patrick Degryse, Monica Ganio, Antonio Longinelli and Gianmario Molin
15 Patterns in production: The Wilshere Collection of gold-glass examined
Susan Walker, Andrew Shortland and Julian Henderson